Bihar police used lathi-charge and water cannons to disperse Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants protesting at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Sunday. The demonstrators were demanding a re-examination of the 70th BPSC Preliminary Examination, alleging a question paper leak.
Patna SP City Sweety Sahrawat stated that the police took action after the protesters refused to vacate the premises and pushed the police. “We requested the students to leave the area and assured them that their demands would be heard. However, they pushed us, forcing us to use water cannons to control the situation,” she explained.
The protest was joined by Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who expressed support for the students. He urged authorities to address their demands and announced that a five-member student committee would meet with the Chief Secretary to discuss the matter. Kishor assured the students that if their concerns were not resolved, he would stand with them for further protests.
We are with the students if any injustice is done to them. I appeal to the students to remain peaceful and await the outcome of the discussion with the Chief Secretary, Kishor said.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav criticized the Bihar government for its handling of the protests and called for a re-examination. If the question paper was leaked, a fair solution would be to conduct a re-exam for everyone, Yadav said, questioning Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership.
In response, BPSC Examination Controller Rajesh Kumar Singh denied allegations of a paper leak, stating that the claims were baseless. He announced that a re-exam for candidates at the Bapu Examination Centre, where irregularities were reported, would be held on January 4, 2025.
The Commission has no evidence of a leak across other centers. The results are expected by the end of January to ensure the Mains can be conducted by April, Singh said, emphasizing that most centers reported no issues.
The protests have garnered national attention, with members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) detained in Delhi for demonstrating outside Bihar Bhawan. Aspirants in Patna continue to demand the cancellation of the examination, maintaining that conducting a re-exam in only one center is unfair.